Book Review: Open This Book

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

Become a dynamic thought leader with this high-spirited guide to using storytelling to captivate and get ahead.

Blogs, books, podcasts, social media, newsletters—there are more ways than ever to speak directly to your audience as a business-owner or influencer. 

But just because you can do it doesn’t mean you are going to do it well. Getting your audience’s attention is one thing; keeping it is a whole different beast. How do you make sure what you are saying is being heard? How do you turn an initially-interested person into a buyer, subscriber, and/or follower?

Stories.

But not just any stories! There’s an art to telling captivating tales. No matter how informed you are as an expert in your niche, you won’t go as far as you can without the ability to turn your information into relatable, unexpected, and relevant stories. You may be thinking, “But I’m a [niche] expert. What if I don’t have a story?”

Sara Lohse has a solution for that. Or a mindset, at least. It goes beyond the adage that everyone has a story. It’s that everyone is a story. With this super-readable, humorous, memoir-ish self-help book, Lohse will help you find & hone yours. 

I dare you to read Open This Book and not come out with a story to use on the other side of it. Prompts, explanations, empty journal pages, examples, and helpful tidbits on choosing and telling stories—this book prioritizes brainstorming and fosters direct action. The questions Lohse pose are pointed enough that you’ll not only have something to talk about the next time you’re booked on a podcast but you’ll be able to talk about it well and with personality. Audiences connect with story; they always have. Now, in a time of trusting and believing in who you are buying from, this book is as relevant as ever.

Lohse does such a terrific job keeping things light, approachable, and even personal in Open This Book. She’s got plenty of her own stories to tell—her infamous penis tattoo story, her maid of honor speech—and it makes the practice-what-you-preach aspect of the book work two-fold. Her point is made crystal clear because she is keeping our attention with her own personal storytelling. I’m glad to listen to this very real person chat about what she knows—not only because I can tell there’s merit, but also because she’s good at telling it.

At times, I felt pages flit by without much new content. Some of the advice can feel empty or redundant and then doubled-down on again. It can also feel more inspirational than direct and practical sometimes. I could have used more on structure, implementation in the real world, and knowing which stories not to tell.

But none of that is to say this book isn’t helpful. Matter of fact, it undeniably is. I now feel more equipped and confident to use storytelling in my (future) book to help my business grow. While reading, my brain was constantly brainstorming which ways I could use them to guide people (kindly, respectfully, trustingly) to the purchase button. 

Looking for an excuse to get ahead as a thought leader? Take the advice of this title and Open This Book.

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